The Bagel
The bagel has long been a great companion to Philly. What do you know about its origins?
The bagel, which was brought over to New York and Montreal with the massive immigration of Eastern Europeans around the turn of the 20th century, has a history full of legend, with its creation linked by most to 17th century Austria and Poland. Today, Montreal and New York still retain the most famous bagels in the world!
The Montreal bagel traditionally contains malt and sugar with no salt and is boiled in water with some honey and then baked in a wood-fired oven. The New York bagel contains salt and malt and is boiled in water prior to baking in a standard oven. The resulting New York bagel is puffy with a moist crust, while the Montreal bagel is slightly smaller, has a larger hole, is crunchier, and is sweeter. Which bagel do you prefer?
Last year, community members launched their own Bagel and Cream Cheese Challenge to make the most creative version of the bagel and cream cheese. They ranged from a Stuffed French Toast Bagel and Chicken Caesar Bagel to a Grilled Bagel with Rosemary-Infused Butter.
What's your most creative bagel and cream cheese concoction? Tell us about it below!
7 comments
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there are so many flavours to fill the 'what kind of bagel do I want now' moods .. I love bagels at all times of the day, its the perfect go to for a quick bite .. my favourite is making bagel sandwiches .. a fresh plain bagel, deli meat, lettuce, tomato, and some brown mustard .. and the bagel holds that sandwich together way better than bread .. going thru Timmy's a blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese .. now I'm hungry! lol -
I'm not super picky when it comes to bagels. I'm still trying to get around to making my own. Hearing Laurie talk about making bagels for her whole brood has inspired me to give it a try.
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I'm completely in love with the Montreal bagel - for those reason listed in today's great feature. I had no idea re; New York bagel - thanks for sharing that ;) I grew up in Montreal so having bagels on a Sunday were simply part of my childhood. I'm partial to sesame bagels with cream cheese of course and/ homemade jam (yep - cream cheese and homemade jam go exceptionally well together ) and a hot cup of sweet tea - probably one of my most favourite comfort foods of all time.
Since moving to BC many years ago, I use to always get my family who were visiting Montreal or Quebec City to bring fresh bagels back ie several dozen! Now when I'm Vancouver, I will go and visit a bagel shop or Grandville market and get bagels. Within a few days several dozen bagels are gone - my sons eat them all day - literally. It must run in the family genes ;)
Love the different combos suggested here and interesting combo Lily will try ;) Very neat you were in NY for children's Literature conference -- how cool is that! Funny you speak of raw onions - I love them but I'm the only one in my family that does - my mom does as well as did her father and was famous for onion sandwiches -- um....
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I'm not all that picky on my type of bagel, but super fresh is the key! I love to make homemade bagels and any type of bagel sandwich, breakfast or otherwise, tops the list for me!
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A few weeks ago, I was in New York at a children's literature conference where ever morning they served New York Bagels and cream cheese. They offered a cream cheese with specks of smoked salmon. It was delicious! I enjoyed them immensely. Here at home, in Victoria, BC, we have a montreal bagel factory where we can buy many flavours of bagels. My brother buys them freshly made, cuts them in half and freezes them. When ever he needs a bagel, he pulls it out of the freezer and into the toaster.
My favorite bagel concotion is a sesame seed whole-wheat bagel toasted with a drizzle of olive oil, sea salt and garlic powder. This is an easy breakfast, sometimes I add a thin slice of aged white cheddar on top and then chopped parsley. Many times, I have eaten raw sliced onions with this as well.
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Haha - I remember that challenge! I am Montreal Style Bagels ALL THE WAY, love the crunch, then the soft dough inside! YUM!
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I've had bagels in both cities and I must say that Montreal bagels have a special place in my heart, maybe it's because of the many times friends gathered to share them in the park or at someone's house on a weekend morning.
As for what I have on my bagel, I'm playing it simple these days. This morning I just opted for onions and tomatoes with cream cheese. This weekend may call for more creative combos.
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